"Rods" (sometimes known as "skyfish", "air rods", or "solar entities") is a term used in cryptozoology, ufology, and outdoor photography to refer to elongated artifacts in the form of light-rods produced by cameras. Videos of rod-shaped objects moving quickly through the air were claimed by some ufologists and cryptozoologists to be alien life forms, "extradimensional" creatures, or very small UFOs. Subsequent experiments showed that these rods appear in film because of an optical illusion/collusion (especially in interlaced video recording), and are typically traces of a flying insect's wingbeats.
Various paranormal interpretations appeared in the popular culture, and one of the more outspoken proponents of rods as alien life forms is Jose Escamilla, who claims to have been the first to film them on March 19, 1994 at Roswell, New Mexico, while attempting to film a UFO. Since then, Escamilla has made additional videos and embarked on lecture tours to promote his claims.
Escamilla is a municipality located in the province of Guadalajara, Castile-La Mancha, Spain. According to the 2004 census (INE), the municipality has a population of 105 inhabitants.
Located at an altitude of 1,023 meters, the municipality is 39.21 km² and borders the north Peralveche to the north, Salmerón and the Province of Cuenca to the east, Pareja to the west and Millana to the south. The creek drains the municipal Escamilla to Guadiela River Basin to the south. The highlight of the term is the Villar, with 1,102 meters, located just over 2 miles north of the town, while the lowest point lies to the south, about 800 meters.
Escamilla was an important town in the mid-twentieth century, when the cultivation of lavender gave some economic importance to Escamilla. The abandonment of it for various reasons caused a period of decline, whose traces are still visible in the ruins of the lavander distillery, located some 100 meters south of the village. This decline accelerated the process of migration and the resulting depopulation. In 1960 Escamilla still had 591 inhabitants, but population decreased to 353 according to the census of 1970 and more than 100 people in 2000. In 2005, according to calculations by D. Guerrero Felix Villalba, a resident of the village, the number of permanent residents of the town was only about 40 people.